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MVP 07 to change pitching mechanics. Cover leaked.

By Jon Robinson

The right analog stick is taking over sports games. From throwing punches to shooting baskets to hitting a baseball, the days of button mashing have quickly evaporated in favor of hit sticks, swing sticks, shot sticks, and highlight sticks.

Word is, MVP 07 NCAA Baseball is going to push the right analog controls up another notch by implementing the stick into your pitching mechanics.

The pitch stick? No, EA Sports is calling the new control Rock and Fire Pitching, as you do just that, rock the right analog stick back to windup, then press it forward to fire the ball.

Before the windup, select your pitch by pressing the corresponding button (X for fastball, square for curve, etc.), then as you pull the stick back, your pitcher winds up and raises his leg. There is a bar at the bottom of the screen that you need to watch as you press the stick forward to release the pitch. If you release the ball too late, the throw will be low. Release it too early, the ball will sail.

The more you pitch, obviously, the more tired your pitcher will become and the sweet spot of the release bar will shrink, making it more difficult for pitchers to throw the ball accurately.

Looks like the days of pressing buttons are clearly behind us.

Other MVP News of Note

Look for MVP to feature a few more teams than it did last season as MVP 06 included 128 schools, while MVP 07's number of teams has increased to 152 in 16 conferences. Additional ballparks will also be highlighted, including Arkansas' Charlie Baum Stadium, home of the Arkansas RBI girl cheerleaders (and yes, the RBI girls are in the game!). Add in school fight songs, and MVP should deliver a significant improvement in terms of capturing that college atmosphere.

Another improvement to the series deals with school customization. If your favorite team has had a lackluster recruiting year (or decade) you'll be able to enter the creation zone and tweak your rosters, giving your lineup more power or your pitchers better control. You can take any current NCAA team, then customize everything in order to create your own team, changing the school name, logo, location. You can even then go in and create your own stadium and players to get just the right look and feel you want before taking them on that long Road to Omaha.